Where is the line between freedom of expression and speech that requires a response from public authorities?
That question is at the heart of this week’s training at the WB3C, organised in cooperation with the Council of Europe and opened by H.E. Cécile Humbert-Bouvier, Ambassador of France to Montenegro, Liliana Trofim, Senior Project Office at the Council of Europe and Lejla Dervisagic, Head of CoE Office in Podgorica.
Participants from law enforcement, prosecution services and other relevant institutions are working with trainers Ronan Mouchoux and Jean-Pierre Bonnet on situations that public authorities increasingly face both online and offline: How to recognize when offensive or disturbing speech escalates into incitement to hatred, public disorder or criminal activity.
One point made by our Council of Europe colleague set the tone particularly well: the purpose is not to censor information or restrict legitimate expression. The challenge is to recognise when content and its context create consequences that may require institutions to act.
And when law enforcement intervention is required, the threshold matters just as much as the response itself. Any action must have a clear legal basis, be necessary in the circumstances and remain proportionate to the risk being addressed.
This makes the subject much more complex than simply identifying “harmful content”. It requires legal judgement, an understanding of context and potential impact, and close cooperation between investigators, prosecutors and other institutions responsible for protecting both public safety and fundamental rights.
For WB3C, this is where capacity building can make a difference by working through realistic scenarios, discussing difficult thresholds and helping practitioners make sound decisions when the answer is not immediately obvious.
